The initial setup is pretty easy for anyone with a security background. Sophos has a wizard that holds your hand through the initial setup to get you up and running, but an administrator needs to get in and fine-tune the solution after the fact. 

The deployment time depends on the size and scope of the client. I've put a bunch of them in small networks of fewer than 10 machines. Those don't take more than a couple of hours. I've also done larger companies with 120-150 people and multiple departments. I like to lock everything down, so I know it's secure, and I create exemptions for things that don't work. It just depends on how many applications, end users, departments, etc. For a big customer, it's a one or two-day process.

I started in corporate networking for large enterprise clients, but I've been running my own business for the last 13 years. A good rule of thumb is about 200 endpoints per technician. That's doing everything, including desktop support and security, etc. For security administration,  one person who knows what they're doing can set it up and administrate it fine.

Now, I have a team of a couple of people underneath me because I have a lot of companies all over the place. It takes more than one person to keep everybody going. If I were the full-time IT guy for a company of 200 people, I could deploy it, manage it, and do it all by myself.

The initial setup was complex as different VLANs had to be created for the business network, wireless network for corporate users, wireless network for guest users, and a separate VLAN for the communications network and the VC. QoS had to be enabled for different type of services. In addition, link load balancing was also configured and tested for internet lease lines and intranet MPLS lease lines.

Compared to other solutions, initial setup is very simple, but it depends on the configuration design that you want. That's where the complexity is.

First, you get the firewall or the router, connect it to the LAN pool, do the initial setup, and then setup the LAN, WAN, and the basic tools. It's the same for FortiGate, IBM ISS, Cisco, Meraki, IronPort, and Websense. Across all those products, the setup is very easy. If there's any problem with initial setup, It has more to do with the lack of experience from the technician setting it up than the complexity of the hardware. 

The only interaction we do with Sophos units is when we are adding new users, removing users, and for other administration tasks. There are two people involved with maintenance, upgrading the firewalls, and testing new scenarios.

My whole team does administration. Comparing Cyberoam to Sophos, the overhead of troubleshooting performance issues is at a minimum. The only time I need to replace a firewall is when it gets burnt out because of a power problem, which is usually something major and doesn't have to do with the product itself.

The initial setup is very straightforward. It's not complex at all. 

It takes about two hours to set up. 

We have three to five engineers that are able to handle deployment and maintenance tasks. 

It is very simple to set up. I'd rate the ease of implementation nine out of ten. 

I cannot recall how long the original deployment took. 

The initial setup is easy and I rate it an eight out of ten.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution’s initial setup ten out of ten.

The product's initial setup phase was relatively easy. I rate the product's initial setup phase a six out of ten.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution can be deployed in three days, depending on the size of an organization. If it's a small company, you can finish the deployment process in a day, but if it's a big company with a lot of requirements, it could even take a week to do the full deployment. The product's initial deployment takes a few hours, but the customization to be carried out to suit an organization's structure takes time, and it depends on how big the company is and what customizations the customer wants in terms of modules.

Whether the initial setup is straightforward or complex depends on the number of users or people to whom the solution is given.

I am a certified Sophos architect, so I help to create the solution.

I have never had any trouble setting it up. There are some things that you have to do from the command line, but that's how Sophos and other products work. It is the same with Meraki and FortiGate. 

For the most part, it's straightforward and you just follow the wizard. The questions regard your internet connection, what service you expect Sophos to provide, and of course, the main one is the license because, for home users, it is free.

The initial setup is straightforward. It is easy to set up and configure.

I would rate the initial setup a four out of five.

It's easy to set up. One day is enough for its full implementation.

The initial setup was not complex. It was very simple and very straightforward. It was not difficult at all. A company shouldn't have any trouble with the process. Specifically, if you have experience in IT, you will find it very easy to deploy these products.

The setup is straightforward.

The initial setup is straightforward. It was implemented within five minutes. 

Setting up Sophos UTM was very simple. I configured the solution more than once and found the process very simple.

The initial setup of Sophos UTM is straightforward. Additionally, the configuration is simple. When we first did the deployment it took approximately two days.

The configuration of this solution is easier than some of the competitors. In some of the other solutions, when there is synchronization between two firewalls there are times you need to break all the configurations and start from the beginning.

If you have a networking background and understand how to configure it, it's very straightforward. Somebody off the street can't just come in and do it, but yeah, it's pretty straightforward.

The initial integration and configuration of Sophos in our AWS environment was incredibly easy. They give you a license key and a file. You download that file on the operating system type that you're trying to install it on. Install it and it's done. There's nothing else at all to do. It gets auto-configured for you.

The initial setup of Sophos UTM is simple. It can be down within one hour.

I rate the initial setup of Sophos UTM a seven out of ten.

The initial setup is very easy. The interface makes it simple.

I'm not sure how long the deployment took exactly.

We have four people that are able to handle maintenance. 

The implementation process is straightforward. It's not overly difficult. A company shouldn't have any issues with the process. 

It's a good idea if you are migrating from another solution, to do a review of security policy. That way, you can better optimize for security when you set everything up.

We have a team of six that can handle implementation and maintenance duties. We have two managers. One covers organizational security and the other cover operational security.

The initial setup is straightforward. We provide one or two engineers for implementation as well as ongoing support following deployment. 

Sophos UTM is easy to set up, and I did it myself.

The implementation process was straightforward. What basically happens is that you just have to pick that certain client from the console and then you just install it on the machines. From there, of course, you handle connectivity after that. It's pretty straightforward.

A full deployment on one machine took less than 20 minutes. The thing is, if you have fast internet, it can even be much less.

Maintenance is very simple. Support is inbuilt from the manufacturer's side. Therefore, internally, if there are any issues on the client machine, you just reinstall it. There isn't much to do really, in terms of maintenance, except maybe the licenses. It's hosted on the cloud and updates are automatic, and are available from the portal.

The initial setup of Sophos UTM is straightforward for both versions, the XG & UTM. In addition, they both provide a proper manual.

In the beginning, seven years back, Sophos UTM wasn't straightforward for beginners. You had to be already excellent in security. Now, it is very easy because you install the IP address, you log in, and you do the initial setup by routine. 

These days its much easier than in the past but not everyone that has a firewall is secured. If you do it properly by choosing the right network, the right topology, and the right firewall rules, Sophos UTM will work.

There are orders for most of the rules. For example, if you put a deny rule below an allow rule, you are not going to have the proper result. 

Sophos UTM requires knowledge. It's easy to deploy but also there is a responsibility on the person who is deploying to understand. 

You must have the knowledge of security and networking, to make sure that the solution is working properly. Sophos UTM is very easy compared to other vendors somehow.

In our environment, we have defined previously the VLAN rules on our sheets because we had another firewall. In the beginning, we just copied the current rules and then enhanced them slowly so deployment took place quickly.

After fixing the appliance physically on the rack, it took one hour to be up and running and ready based on the rules. If you are a small environment that would take you less than 20 minutes. 

It all depends on how many rules you have, how many demands, how many users, and public services. For example: if you have five websites, the main server, and a starter business, you might need more time because you would need to define the rules properly. 

It all depends on how complex your environment is. Sophos UTM is easy and straightforward for me and for somebody who is certified on security levels.

The initial setup was relatively straightforward. 

Simple small offices are a breeze. We have some template configurations, which only require us to stage and activate a license(s), install a basic template and modify the interfaces to meet client specifics and then add the unique definitions. More complex setups start with a basic template which even my technicians can load, and then require an engineer or security specialist to finish off.

The initial setup was straightforward. The full deployment takes approximately two days which could be simplified to reduce the time. The major part of the process is the configuration and the policy setup.

The implementation of Sophos UTM firewalls is difficult. There are many aspects that are involved and there is maintenance needed. However, the difficulty level is the same as if you were implementing a Fortinet firewall.

Although I hadn't done a setup in a while, I quickly recalled the steps taken. If you've handled a setup before, you're likely to find the implementation process rather straightforward. I found I was able to adapt quickly and figure out the necessary configurations.

For anyone with Proxy and firewall experience the setup is pretty straight forward with a wizard that will get you up and running in no time. The UTM / SG is also available in Hardware Software / Hyper-V/ AWS / ESXi / Oracle Virtual Box so you can set up a test or lab environment on almost anything to get started.

The initial setup is easy. It took half an hour to deploy. 

The initial setup is relatively straightforward.

Initial configuration was super simple. I am a network engineer, so simple to me may not be simple to someone who does not understand routing and switching. When we were told we were switching to Sophos UTM, I downloaded a trial of the virtual firewall and was able to get it up and running in about an hour with no prior training. After actually going to the training courses provided by Sophos, configuration became even easier.

The initial setup is quite easy because they have all the information on their website. Customer service is available anytime, especially when you set to start the device's configuration.

Since I was just a part of the initial configuration after deployment, I don't know the steps in the deployment process.

The initial setup was easy.

The installation of Sophos SG UTM is very easy. There are detailed manuals that can help with the installation if you run into difficulties. There is some basic transferring training you can take that is not complicated.

It is very complicated to migrate everything you put in SG to another version. You need to redefine many aspects manually on the XG because you are not able to extract the configuration from a confidential file to import it into the XG. They are very different and will not work in the same way. It is very confusing for a new customer.

If customers want to buy the XG because it is the new version and they want to migrate through a Sophos or integrator, it will take a lot of days for engineers from SG to XG to implement because it is not the same solution anymore. It is very much similar to if you were migrating from SG to a Fortinet or to a Palo Alto firewall. You have to recreate the configurations manually on your side, with no migration paths. It is a very important point. We do not have migration paths from one to another.

While the configuration can sometimes be tricky, it was pretty much straightforward to initially set everything up. It helped that we had paid support through Sophos, so their technicians helped us get it up and running.

The deployment took a couple of weeks in total. It wasn't too big of a deal.

We don't really have any staff dedicated to deployment and maintenance. I tend to handle those aspects myself.

I've watched a few webinars, even on implementation, and it's just that a lot of the stuff is really different. You need to work on it a bit to get the hang of everything.

The implementation of Sophos UTM is simple. The documentation of the solution is satisfactory.

I rate the initial setup of Sophos UTM an eight out of ten.

The ease of setup is dependent on the level of technical expertise. If you are a qualified tech, all firewalls should be pretty simple to deploy, depending on the environment. It's simple enough to implement in general. 

The initial setup is very simple and straightforward. It's not overly difficult or complex to set up. 

The initial setup is somewhat tricky. You need to understand networking concepts well, and the company must have good policies for internet access. However, it's not that complicated. I would say it's an intermediate difficulty, but I also have a lot of experience with this solution. It might be challenging for a new technician. We do all the deployment in-house, and it takes about three business days. Our team consists of two technicians and me, the manager. 

The initial setup was done with our engineers, they also set up that server firewall. The setup was straightforward.

For me, the installation and setup is simple. I work hard to do the simulation for the customer, and discuss all the requirements before implementation with the client.

It integrated well with AWS. The documentation was a little fuzzy on getting it to work with how the whole public exposure versus private exposure, then routing some of the traffic. However, once you read the documentation carefully, it comes out well. This goes back to the UI issue.

For a user who hasn't done it before, it may be a bit complex but with a general understanding of networks, it was fine.

However, when you build everything up using the AWS version (setup), it actually does not work until you write it on the Sophos UTM and in the networking, you have to change the source destination check. You have to do that at the end of it, but there is nowhere in the documentation or anything where it tells you that. It was just somebody happened to find that out. It is a pretty straightforward setup, but it should be some sort of documentation that takes you step-by-step to help set it up for your VPC. There really is not that much difference setting it up in different VPCs, but there is not enough information out there. It is a very good solution that a lot of people would be using more of except you are doing different things, and you have to try and figure it out yourself. 

The support, there is none; AWS themselves, they support it the best, because they have some knowledge of it, but they do not fully support it because it is not their product. It is a third-party product.

Installing Sophos UTM is straightforward. The deployment itself doesn't take long, but you have to spend some time planning and waiting for the hardware to be delivered. 

The initial setup was simple and straightforward. The deployment was fast. It only took about a week or so, maybe less. 

It is easy to install.

We only require one engineer to deploy and maintain this solution.

It was a very straightforward setup. As it is a browser based tool, it helps administrator to access it from different location and system. We don't have to download desktop clients on our local system. Also, we can access this product from different operating systems (linux, windows and Mac).

The initial setup is very, very difficult. When I installed the new Sophos and tried to restore the backups, the restore process did not work. I tried more than 20 times, and in the end, implemented a fresh install which required a lot of work. It was too difficult. It took me a long couple of days. It's worth checking the YouTube videos, they really saved me. 

The initial setup is straightforward. Sophos brand is well known in the market for being a unique and powerful tool that is simple to deploy and manage. This is what makes it different from any other vendors. The Sophos UTM, comes with a deployment "Wizard for Dummies" since it show the wizard at the initial setup, and in less than three minutes, you can have your box up and running. Also for Policies deployment, you are clicks away to customize your security settings.

The initial setup takes around seven to nine days.

The initial implementation is not complex. We found it to be very straightforward. It was easy.

The deployment took approximately one week. It didn't take too long.

We had two people on staff that handle deployment and maintenance.

The initial configuration is straightforward thanks to the web GUI. In 30 minutes, you can have a running firewall with UTM protection enabled.

The initial setup was very straightforward. I will say that you do need to have a certain level of knowledge to set up the more advanced functions. Configuring the network was the easiest part, and the firewall was very straightforward once you figured out exactly what rules you needed to put in place. NAT was a bit confusing to start with, but once you went through the process it was easy. Intrusion prevention was easy to set up, flip the switch to the on position and decide what rules you want to apply. Web filtering took a few calls to Sophos to set up properly, as we were trying to set up filtering policies based on Active Directory groups, and were not successful in the initial configuration, but we did finally get this implemented.

The initial setup, at the beginning, was very complex. After some time, everything got clear. I did the migration of UTM to the new OS XG by myself and I didn't need help from technical support.

You can setup the unit in simple mode and get 90% of what you want done. That is very straightforward

You can also setup each component manually. This requires understanding of the unit but even that is not difficult.

Probably the only difficult part of the Sophos UTM is the WebControl as this can be setup many ways. Ensuring you have mapped out a solution that is adaptable to the company is probably the most complex part.

The initial setup was simple.

The initial setup was not straightforward because we had experience with UTM, but not with XG. It's a completely different system. 

We had it up and running within one week.

The integration and configuration of this product on our AWS environment is a little clunky right now.

The product is a standalone in terms of integration.

The configuration was pretty complex on my side compared to OpenVPN. However, this might imply that Sophos has more use cases and capabilities. It depends.

The setup is straightforward, but I suggest hiring an expert for integration. This is your first line of defense, and there is no room for mistakes.

The initial setup is pretty straightforward. They have a template which takes you through and asks what you want protected. There's still a lot to do after that because there are variations which require more work. For example, if I have clients who need to block certain email addresses, I have to go through and set those up. If I need to allow conversations which require specific ports open in order to get to a particular business or credit card processing, that has to be set up. There is a lot of HIPAA detail in it and it also has credit card compliance things which require a manual set up. The setup requires a knowledge base. 

Setup is easy and straightforward. It is a browser based tool, so you can access it from every location, and with different operating systems.

It's logically straightforward and the transparent interface made possible a quick deployment. However, a little time was needed to get familiarized with the interface.

When you start the initial setup you`re helped with wizards, but if you use the software appliance and make a mistake by selection wrong interfaces in the wizard it can result in the firewall becoming unreachable.nThe hardware appliance is (almost) plug & play.

Slow because of GUI and lack of .csv style object import.

The setup wizard provided me with just enough insight into the basics of the solution -- to be able to start using the solution fully after some self-study and exploration of the various knowledge bases and forums.

The initial setup is quite simple. 

The initial setup is complex.

 You can use the wizard which will guide you through all the initial settings.

The initial setup is simple.

The initial setup was straightforward. It depends on the rules, but a basic setup can take up to seven to 15 minutes max.

It is straightforward. There is a wizard running at first boot, making it easy for you to select the level of protection you want.

Setup is straightforward.

The initial setup is easy.

It is very easy.

Straightforward.

The installation of the solution is easy. It can be finalized in approximately five hours. 

It was easy to set up and quite straightforward.

The initial setup is very simple.

The initial setup was straightforward. We had a problem with the multi-factor authentication.

The initial setup was straightforward.

It was very easy.

The initial setup was very straightforward. It was done through a wizard and there not much needed doing while setting up the UTM.

The implementation with the AWS environment was good. 

We haven't had any issues with deployment.

The initial setup of this solution was easy. It was not complex.